1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a series of surface active polyether biguanide salts. The invention also relates to a series of water solutions of surface active polyether biguanide salts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The term surfactant refers to substances which lower liquid-liquid, liquid-solid or liquid-gas interfacial tension. Surfactant solutions used by themselves or in conjunction with cleaning adjuvants such as additives or builders are widely used to wet surfaces, remove soil, penetrate porous materials, disperse particles, emulsify oils and greases, etc., dependent upon the particular characteristics of the surfactant or surfactants used.
Desirably surfactants are inexpensive, light colored materials which function at low concentration levels in aqueous solutions and which can be produced in good yield from readily available low cost starting materials, free from deleterious contaminants, preferably as easily handled, free-flowing liquids or powders.
For many applications, such as heavy duty industrial applications for metal scouring and dishwasher detergent compositions, the compositions necessarily include highly alkaline materials such as alkali metal hydroxides, alkoxides and phosphates. In the aqueous media that these detergents function, the pH of the cleaning solution frequently will be from 10 to 13. For this reason a prerequisite of heavy duty detergency compositions is stability at elevated pH's in aqueous solutions.
It has been found, surprisingly, that certain polyether biguanide epoxy curative agents described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,078 display surface activity in water solution.